Friday, October 14, 2011

Management is a science.
Being a student of management, I know how important it is to understand the rules of the game in a logical, precise way.
I treated management and marketing as a ' subject' and poured over laws and tables and graphs and models.
Work taught me something that management as a subject did not. Actually could not.
Work taught me that marketing has as its client the toughest species that exist on this planet.
Who make decisions and outsmart the most brilliant of strategists.
Who can make brands into icons and icons into nothingness at the click of a button.
I have learnt that more than all laws and rules and tables, we need to learn from people themselves.
And we need to play with the biggest factor that can actually influence the toughest of minds.
Emotions.
Seems like a subjective,soft aspect in the face of formidable matketing sciences.
There is no law on emotions.
There can't be.
Emotions are spontaneous.
Authentic.
Straight from the heart.
It is important to understand the role emotions play in marketing.
And how we need to take that walk into the sabzi mandi or talk to Sunita from JaiHind college.
Or even watch good old Doordarshan
Maybe use that cake of Lifebouy
And hangout in the park instead of a mall.
We need to have the instinct and gut feel to understand the emotional forces and undercurrents.
These forces can turn the tide for us and our brands.